Jack O' Lanterns

Our pumpkins have officially turned in to Jack O' Lanterns! Which, when you hear Cam say it sounds a lot like Chicken Interns, not sure why. The kids all got to draw their own faces and then we helped them carve their pumpkins. There is no easy way to get out all that pumpkin goo is there? We couldn't find the cheap little plastic pumpkin scooper that we usually use and it took forever to get all the stringy slimy pumpkin guts out. I think it is the pumpkins way of protesting the carving. Last night the kids also got Halloween cards in the mail from my parents, and when Camden saw the Mickey shaped pumpkin on the front of the card he took it over and introduced it to his pumpkin. It was so sweet, I wish I had gotten it on film! We still aren't sure what he is going to dress up as on Friday, but I still have two whole days to figure it out :)

Weekend Away

We went up to Pismo Beach this past weekend for a Student Ministry staff retreat. It was really nice to get away for a few days! The only downside was that the house we were in totally smelled like fish. We never could figure out why, although I really think there was something dead in one of the locked closets :)
I took the kids to the Avila Farm while Matt was leading his meetings. I love that place! The kids loved all the animals and pumpkins, and then when we went shopping through the barn they had all sorts of free candy samples and my kids totally left on a sugar high. Kendall kept saying, "We can have another one? Really?" Yes darling, that is what vacation is all about!
The above picture is from the "dinosaur park" at shell beach. Can you tell they had fun? Oh, and I have a quick funny story for you. Last week in the car Bennett was "teaching" Kendall about geography and he said "Did you know that there is a state in the middle called Nebraska and they don't have any ocean around them so they don't have any beaches? If they want to go to the beach they have to drive all the way to Washington or Oregon or California or Texas, and that is a really long drive!" Oh, my sweet child. I guess they haven't covered the eastern states yet. I think he was pretty concerned for those poor people in Nebraska who don't have beaches, I probably shouldn't tell him about all of the other landlocked states. Hopefully we won't get called to minister to a beach-less state anytime soon :)

My Li'l Pumpkins

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch! I love this time of year, and I love our local pumpkin patch. We have been going there forever and it is so much fun. Yesterday was rather chaotic because we went with our family group which has about 900 kids in it. Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but when they are all running in different directions it sure feels that way. They all seemed to enjoy it though, and Bennett made it through the corn maze this year! I hate the corn maze, that is one thing that is a daddy only job. I think I watched too many scary movies growing up, I get totally claustrophobic in them and then I get embarrassed when I see five year olds whizzing past me with no fear.
Now we need to carve our pumpkins and roast pumpkin seeds; did I mention I love this season? I think I am more excited than the kids!

Slacker

Okay, I know I promised to be better about updating this post. I am a huge slacker who has spent the past week taking bubble baths and eating bon bons and for the life of me I couldn't tear myself away from the luxury long enough to write anything.
Seriously though, I can't believe how crazy our life has gotten. We try hard not to overwhelm our kids with too many activities, and yet our entire month has something written down on the calendar. How is that possible? I blame it on coming from two large families and having too many friends, which I suppose is a good thing!
Matty had his 35th birthday last week, so for those of you who live in states that accept write in nods for the President you can cast him your vote on election day. We didn't do a lot to celebrate, but we had a small family/friend lunch which he loved and got a free date in thanks to my mom. The weekend prior to his bday he spent as Superman for his niece's birthday. Let me tell you, a grown man must really love his niece to wear tights in a public place for her. Either that or his sister has some dirt on him from childhood that she threatened him with :)
Kendall has done much better in soccer the past couple of weeks. I realized though that she is not really enjoying the game much more, but rather the crowd of adoring fans that show up to cheer her on (thank you grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and darling best friends for your support of her). What can I say, she loves being the center of attention. Not sure who she got that from...
I promise to add pumpkin patch pictures this week! Now it is back to the bubbles!

Apple Picking

Kendall had her first field trip last week, a trip to the apple farm in Santa Ynez to pick some apples. Doesn't that sound like a great fall activity? Did I mention it was like 90 degrees? Anyway, the kids were all gathering apples and talking about what they wanted to do with them. Some had parents with them that had huge bags of apples and rambled on about everything they were going to do, make apple sauce, apple juice, apple cake, apple muffins, apple crisp, etc. And even though it is way too hot to bake, I thought it might be fun to teach the kids how to make apple pie. My mom has always been a great baker and I knew she would have a yummy recipe for us. That was my grand plan, until we got home and my daughter very seriously looked at me and said, "Mommy, please don't make a pie". Okay....how on earth am I supposed to take that? Is she afraid I am going to burn down the kitchen with my baking? Does she fear food poisoning because my food tastes so bad? Seriously, who wouldn't want pie??? I eventually realized that she was enjoying eating the apples whole, which is apparently a treat I deprive my kids of because I usually slice them up so they can share them. Who knew?!?

Can You Spot The Real Indy?

I know that in some parts of the country, when you mention Indy people first think of the races. However, around our house, it is all about Indiana Jones. Even though they have never seen the movies, my kids love playing Indy. We also love watching the Raiders of the Lost Brick on the Lego website, which is pretty funny if you get a chance to look at it. Anyway, below are all my Indy's:


Kendall Joy is more the adventurer/ballerina, but whatever works for her. Bennett is going to use the hat for his Halloween costume, although I have a feeling Camden is going to want it, too. I am thankful that we still have 30 days to work that one out :)